Cross-Border Bean Market Performance in Western Kenya and Eastern Uganda

Lianda Wanyonyi Mauyo,Jonas N Chianu,Bernard Kibet Nassiuma,Richard Onyango Musebe

doi:10.4236/jssm.2010.34057

Lianda Wanyonyi Mauyo, Jonas N Chianu + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4236/jssm.2010.34057

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Abstract

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is an important grain legume in East Africa, providing food and income to rural households. Smallholder farmers in Kenya and Uganda have widely adopted improved varieties. The demand for common bean in Kenya outstrips domestic supply – hence the need for imports. There is significant border trade on common bean between Kenya and Uganda. This study assesses the efficiency of this trade and evaluates the performance of common bean marketing as well as the associated transport system. Purposive, multistage and systematic random sampling methods were used to select the 210 respondents for the study. SPSS was used for data analysis. Results indicate huge inefficiency in common bean marketing in Kenya and Uganda due to poor road infrastructure and high transaction costs (mostly due to transport costs). Primary market traders incurred a significantly higher cost than terminal market traders. Generally, Ugandan traders operated at relatively higher efficiency than Kenyan traders. However, all the traders made profits far in excess of their common bean transfer costs. The study recommends regional market, infrastructural, and institutional development as well as the abolition of illegal fees in order to improve bean market efficiency in the study area and similar environments.

Highlights

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is a major food crop to people of all household income categories in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Eastern Africa [1]
The demand for common bean in Kenya is much more than local supply, which is often supplemented with the imports, mostly from Uganda and Tanzania [2]
For common bean imports to be formally allowed into Kenya or out of it, KEPHIS requires phytosanitary certificate to confirm that the consignment has been inspected in Uganda and is free of pests and diseases

Summary

Introduction

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is a major food crop to people of all household income categories in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Eastern Africa [1]. In pure stands ( not a common practice), yields of as high as 700 kg ha-1 have been reported under farmer management conditions [3] This is still low when compared with a yield potential of up to 5000 kg ha-1 [4]. Such high yields have already been achieved in Mexico under field conditions [5] Another estimate of Kenya’s common bean deficit put it at about 200,000 metric tons [6]. The average annual official imports are 1,500 metric tons, while the annual imports not recorded by the customs authorities were estimated at about 9,300 metric tons [7] This has resulted in a significant border trade on common bean between Kenya and Uganda [1]

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Results

Conclusion